Episode 16: Lost
by Castle Season 9
Summary: When the wife of a well-to-do state senator is killed, Beckett and her team are drawn into an investigation involving murder, politics, and a vengeful family.
1. Chapter 1

**Lost**

Season 9, Episode 16

Written by ipreferwestside

 _This is a work of fiction by writers with no professional connection to ABC network's Castle. Recognizable characters are the property of Andrew Marlowe and ABC. Names, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental._

* * *

"Are you going to pick me up from school, too?"

She turned to glance at her son in the back seat. "Probably not, sweetie," she said, reaching back and patting his knee. "But I'll see you at home."

He looked crestfallen, and she tried to ignore it, tried not to let it bother her. She did want to spend more time with him, but he had school and she had her own commitments, and there just wasn't enough time in the day.

Besides, she hadn't seen her friends in ages.

She pulled up in front of the school, her son chattering away, and waited impatiently in line behind the other cars. This was why she usually had the driver take him; she hated lines, hated just waiting.

After what seemed like hours, she was in the small drop-off area, and she bid her son goodbye as he clambered out, still talking about his friends and the new pet frog they were supposed to get in his classroom.

"Have a good day, honey, I love you," she called out as he left the car.

"Bye Mom!"

She took a moment to close her eyes, but in that moment she heard the passenger door open and someone get in before the door closed again.

"I don't want to hurt you," an unfamiliar voice said. "I just want to talk."

She froze when she felt something against her side, and when she heard a click she knew it was a gun. "I have a family," she said, her voice cracking.

"Just drive."

She lifted her foot from the brake.

And then her phone rang.

Her passenger jerked, and she heard a loud bang, felt a sharp pain in her side. The next thing she knew she was alone in the car, and as she opened her door to get help, unbuckling her seatbelt, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

The last thing she heard as her world faded to black was a scream.

* * *

"Ow!"

Kate jumped, taking care not to drop Castle's mug as she finished making his coffee. Strangely, her husband had been gone from bed when she'd woken up, but she'd heard grating sounds from what sounded like the nursery upstairs. She hadn't gone in search of him yet, but she'd figured he would be back down when he was done with whatever it was he was doing.

Judging by his shout, and the loud thud that accompanied it, something had gone wrong.

She abandoned the coffee, but before she could make her way upstairs she heard him coming down.

Loudly.

"Babe?" she asked, an inquisitive eyebrow raised when she took him in.

He was still in his pajamas, hair messy from sleep, and the scowl on his face was accompanied by the doll that he unceremoniously dropped on the island. She eyed the doll, then his limp, and reached for his coffee. "What's going on?"

Castle took the offered mug with a thin smile. "Thanks. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd rearrange the furniture in the nursery, like we'd been wanting to do. Then I saw the doll Alexis got for Lily, and I thought I'd get some practice in. You know, changing diapers. Practice makes perfect." He glared at the offending doll. "So I sat on the floor, and then... well, my knee locked up and when I tried to get up, I fell over."

Kate stifled the chuckle that threatened to escape at the image. "Are you okay?"

He grimaced, his hand at his knee. "Yeah, I'm okay, now. But remember last weekend?" At her smirk, he gave her a look. "Not _that_ part, Beckett. I mean Saturday, when we watched the kids."

"Ah."

They'd babysat for Ryan, so he and Jenny could have a date night. While they hadn't had to keep the kids overnight like baby Benny three years prior, Castle had done most of the interacting with the kids. As a big kid himself, he had been in his element, but after four hours of playing horse and effectively being climbed on, he'd complained of his knees and back hurting the next day.

"Let's face it," he whined, leaning on the counter. "I don't think I'm cut out for this." He let out an exaggerated sigh. "I'm getting old. I'm pushing fifty and I'm about to have a newborn."

Kate abandoned her own coffee to circle around the island, and cupped his cheeks with her palms. "Listen to me," she said, her voice stern. "You are a wonderful father. You did a wonderful job raising Alexis, you're great with kids, and you'll be even better with Lily. I couldn't ask for a better man to have a child with."

"But I-"

"No buts," she interrupted, narrowing her eyes. "What happened to the RHD I married?" When he squinted at her, she smirked. "Ruggedly Handsome Dad? Don't tell me you forgot. Maybe you _are_ getting old," she teased, patting his cheek and stepping away.

Castle grabbed her hand as she turned, and tugged her back into his side. "Hey." He rested his free hand on her belly and leaned down to give her a soft kiss. "Thanks," he murmured.

Kate smiled against his mouth and kissed him in return. "Any time. Now, how about we-"

She was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing, and with a groan, she forced herself from her husband's arms. "Huh. Something must be up." She turned the phone to show Castle the commissioner's name on the screen.

He smudged a kiss to her temple before stepping away, and she smiled at him even as she swiped the screen to answer.

"Captain Beckett."

* * *

"You'll do fine, Javi," Ryan assured his partner as they stepped out of his cruiser. "You're great with Sarah Grace."

"But not Nicholas."

Ryan lifted a brow. "Nicholas doesn't like anyone who isn't Jenny or me." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, or Castle. Or Beckett."

Esposito snorted. "Or Lanie."

"Well…"

"I'm fine with my own family, you know?" he interrupted. "But Richie hasn't warmed up to me yet. The kid still glares at me, like he's sizing me up. Just waiting for me to mess up. But Marisa gets off later than me tonight and her mom can't watch him past seven, so she asked me."

"Look, dude, it'll be fine. Keep showing up, and over time he'll realize that you're not going anywhere."

"Yeah, you're probably right. By the way, have you heard anything about the sergeant's exam?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not lately. I think I'm going to start looking at other options if this drags on too long."

Esposito stopped and grabbed Ryan's arm. "What, like leaving homicide?" he asked, the surprise on his face evident.

Ryan didn't answer. He glanced up and furrowed his brows when he noticed Beckett and Castle at the crime scene, talking with Lanie. "We'll talk later, ok? Beckett's here too."

Ryan eyed the car and the sheet-covered body next to the driver's door as he approached the scene. He narrowed his eyes at the pool of blood at the victim's torso, instead of the head, like he'd expected from an accident.

"Hey Cap," he greeted Beckett, who nodded at them. "What's going on?"

Since becoming Captain, Beckett had been going to crime scenes less often, but her presence outside the precinct was almost nonexistent the further along she got in her pregnancy.

Beckett motioned towards the cluster of news vans down the street and the crowd of adults near them in front of the school. "The commissioner called me in, for the press. Victim is 43-year-old Monica Kearney, the wife of State Senator Alexander Kearney." She led them closer to the body. "She was dropping her son off. All we know so far is that after her son got out, someone else got into her car, and she was shot."

Lanie crossed her arms and gave Beckett a look. "Nice report on the COD. I didn't realize you were the ME," she teased, her eyebrows raised.

Beckett blushed. "Sorry. Go on."

"Mm-hmm." Lanie knelt by the body and lifted the sheet, waited for Ryan and Espo to look before putting it back down. "That's basically everything we know right now. Single GSW to her side; one of the other parents tried to stop the bleeding, but she was dead when the paramedics got here."

"She's dropping her kid off at school and ends up getting shot? What the hell happened?" Espo asked, eliciting a shrug from Lanie.

"Beats me. That's your job."

Beckett looked over Ryan's shoulder and sighed. "Reporters are starting to gather. You guys take Castle, see if you can find out what happened. They should have security cameras that cover the drop-off area."

"You got it, boss." Ryan didn't miss the brush of Beckett's hand against her husband's, but he shifted his gaze away to let them have a final private moment before entering the chaos of a highly-publicized case.

* * *

"Dean Henderson, I'm Detective Esposito, this is my partner Detective Ryan, and Richard Castle. We're here to investigate what happened this morning."

Castle watched as Espo took point in speaking to the Dean. He knew how tough these cases could be, having consulted on several over the years, and Esposito taking the lead was an interesting choice. He was a very good detective, smart and to the point, but he occasionally lacked the patience or tact that high-profile cases required.

"Thank you." The Dean, a slender man in his 60s, slumped in his chair, the opposite demeanor that his impeccably parted hair and pressed suit would suggest. "I just can't believe it. I have no idea how something like this could happen. Not here, not at Grayson." He sighed and looked up at the detectives. "We have very tight security."

Castle quirked an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"We'd like to speak to your security people," Ryan piped up, pocketing his notebook. "Are there cameras at the front entrance?"

"Of course. The security office is down the hall and to the left," Dean Henderson said, waving his arm towards the door. "Christina can take you."

Christina, his assistant, was a pretty young lady with soft eyes, and she repeated how sad she was at what had happened. "I'd only met Mrs. Kearney a few times," she said as she led them to the office, "but she was always nice. And her son, Adam, he's a sweetheart. Smart as a whip, too. Okay, here we are."

"Thank you, Christina," Castle said with a nod, letting the detectives walk through the door first.

Hank Torres, head of security, was a large man, several inches taller than Castle and built like a linebacker. Castle hovered by the door, eyeing the computer screens along the wall. There were almost two dozen, which showed various areas around the campus. He spotted two from the front, the drop-off area, which he could see was roped off with crime-scene tape.

"Can we see the footage from when Mrs. Kearney dropped off her son?" Ryan asked.

"Of course," Torres said, turning to the computers. "I already have it up on screen four."

Castle and the detectives watched as a blue SUV stopped in front of the entrance. After a few moments a boy got out, presumably the son, and as soon as he was gone, a man - or a person with very short hair - opened the passenger door and got in.

"You see that?" Espo asked, breaking the silence.

Castle nodded. "It doesn't look like he's wearing any kind of mask," he said before Ryan could respond, "but you can't see his face, from either angle."

"Are there any other cameras that might show more?"

"No, that's it."

Ryan collected copies of the footage, both of the incident and the time before and after, and slipped the USB drive into his pocket as they walked back down the hall. "What do you think?" he asked the others. "It seemed like he knew where the cameras were. Inside job?"

Castle shook his head. "I think it's too soon to tell. We should talk to Adam, though; he might-" He was interrupted by his cell phone ringing, and he smiled when he saw his wife's picture on the screen. "Hey, Beckett. How'd it go with the media?"

"Fine," she sighed. "Any luck with the security footage?"

"No. It caught someone, possibly a man, getting in the car. We couldn't see his face though."

Castle heard the sound of a car door shutting, and the background noise quieted.

"Okay." Kate sighed again. "I need to stop at 1PP and meet with the commissioner. He wants an update in person. Do you mind tagging along with Ryan and Espo some more?"

"No, not at all." Castle paused to let the detectives get ahead of him. "Are you okay?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

Kate let out a hum, and he could imagine her looking down, the hand not holding the phone resting on her belly. "The commissioner wants it solved yesterday, is all. But hearing your voice makes it better," she admitted.

Castle smiled. "Happy to help." He looked up just in time to see Ryan and Esposito turn the corner back to the front entrance, and he rushed to follow. "Hey, what about the kid? We can't talk to him without his dad, right?"

"Technically we can, but considering the situation, I think we should wait. The senator is on his way to pick him up, then I want them to come to the precinct. Can you guys wait for him to get there, just come together?"

"Got it."

"'Kay. I gotta get going." Kate paused. "I love you, Rick."

"Love you too. Good luck with the commissioner."

Kate scoffed. "Yeah, thanks."

Castle noticed the looks that Ryan and Esposito were giving him, looks that were a mixture of fondness, from Ryan, and disgust, from Esposito. "Shut up," he muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

"Senator." Espo stepped to the side when the senator barged through the door to the dean's office. "Sir, I'm Detective Esposito-"

"I don't give a damn who you are," Senator Kearney snapped, "where's my son?"

Espo shared a look with Ryan. "He's with our consultant, Richard Castle. Senator-."

The senator spun on his heel and glared at Esposito. "He better not be trying to talk to Adam without me present."

"Senator Kearney." Ryan stood in front of him and squared his shoulders. "Castle isn't questioning your son, or asking him anything about what happened this morning. He was simply keeping him company until you got here."

Kearney seemed to relax at Ryan's words. "I'm sorry, I just can't believe this is happening." He ran a hand through his hair, ruining what had been perfectly styled. "I just talked to her a few hours ago."

"Our Captain is heading the investigation personally," Ryan said, "so why don't you get your son, and we can head to the precinct?"

"Of course."

* * *

By the time Beckett got back to the precinct, the senator was restless, and she could see him pacing in the break room as soon as she stepped off the elevator.

She nodded her greeting to Ryan, who was in front of the murder board, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Anything new?" she asked, approaching his side.

Ryan shook his head, his eyes not leaving the board. "No. We got the footage from the school, but you can't see the guy's face, and he only shows up on the camera right before he gets in the car," he explained. "Espo took some unis to canvass surrounding areas, look for more security cameras or witnesses. But the few people we talked to at the school saw nothing."

"Of course," Beckett sighed. "Where's Castle?"

"Keeping the senator company." Ryan finally looked at her, his eyebrows raised. "How's the commissioner?"

Beckett mirrored his look with one of her own. After being moved to the bottom of the waiting list for the sergeant's exam the previous fall, her detectives had both lost a lot of respect for the commissioner. She was trying to get them scheduled to retake the exam, but the 2017 exam was already booked, and no amount of pleading could get the boys in.

"He's, well, you know." She frowned. "We need to be extra careful with this one, Kevin. By the book. When we find the guy, we need to have all the I's dotted and T's crossed before we send it to the DA."

"You got it, boss."

She rapped her knuckles against the break room door before opening it, and lifted her lips towards Castle when he met her eyes. She could see the relief in his face, the concern when his eyes flicked to her belly, and she gave him a small shake of her head.

The senator turned at the sound of the door and moved behind his son, placed a protective hand on his shoulder. Adam sat with his hands folded in his lap, silent, but Kate could see large tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Senator," Beckett greeted him, holding her hand out. "I'm Captain Beckett. Please accept my condolences for the loss of your wife."

"Thank you."

"I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you're up for it?" At the senator's nod, she looked up at Castle. "Do you mind if your son goes with Mr. Castle? They can go to my office."

Kearney nodded and pulled Adam into his side with a squeeze. "Adam, why don't you go play with Mr. Castle? I need to talk to the nice Captain for awhile."

Kate mouthed a _thank you_ to Castle when he left, then turned back to the senator and pulled her notebook from her blazer. "Again, sir, I'm very sorry for your loss. Tell me about your wife. Did she take your son to school often?"

"No," he shook his head, "she didn't."

"Why did she today?"

"Our driver asked for the day off, and she had made plans to meet a couple friends for breakfast this morning. We have a backup driver, but she said she didn't mind driving." The senator grabbed for a tissue and blew his nose, dabbed at his watery eyes with another.

"The friends she was meeting, do you know them?"

"Yes, they're former sorority sisters from college. I can give you their names."

Beckett waited while he wrote the names down. "Thank you. Did you and your wife have any enemies? Anyone who may have held a grudge against her for any reason?"

Kearney shook his head almost before she finished the question. "No, not at all. As a politician, there are plenty of people who don't like me. But everyone loved Monica. She was the life of the party."

"You said your driver asked for today off?"

"Yes." Kearney wrote that name down as well. "John's very loyal. He's been with me since before I became State Senator. He never took a day off without explanation until today."

"And he requested it?"

"Yeah, he did. You know, it was last minute, too, only asked for it last week." Kearney fell silent for a few moments, his eyes downcast, hands folded on the table in front of him. "I asked him why he needed it, and he snapped at me. Wouldn't say anything. That was odd."

"How so?"

"I've known John for twenty years," Kearney explained. "He's been my driver for almost ten, and before that, we were shooting buddies."

Beckett sat up as quickly as her belly allowed her to. "Shooting buddies?" she repeated.

"We were roommates in our late twenties, before I met Monica. He'd just gotten out of the Navy and was trying to get on his feet, and we used to go to the shooting range to blow off steam."

 _He knows how to handle a weapon,_ Beckett thought to herself, making a note. She didn't say anything, didn't want the senator to know his friend was a suspect.

"I know you have a lot of opposition," Beckett started, "but can you think of anyone in particular who may have it out for you? Any disgruntled employees? Someone who's threatened you, opposed legislation, maybe?"

Kearney thought for a few long moments. "The only person I can think of is one of my legislative assistants. She got into an argument with Bob, my chief of staff, then stormed out."

"What was the fight about?"

"You'd have to ask Bob. I wasn't there; he just told me that she quit."

"We'll talk to him, thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

Esposito checked his phone again for messages, surprised when he saw one from Beckett.

 _John Barnes is the driver, had this morning off. Strange he asked for it on short notice. Bring him in._

 _Will do,_ he replied after receiving the address, and when he saw it was in the Bronx, he winced. He didn't want to take the time to pick up the driver, not when he needed to be able to pick up Richie, but if he was quick, he could be back at the precinct in plenty of time.

Although, if he needed to stay later to work the case…

He shook his head at himself as he waited for the elevator. _You're a grown-ass man. You can deal with an eight-year-old for a couple hours._

 _But an eight-year-old who hates you?_ came the argument from the back of his mind.

Any response to himself was interrupted by his phone ringing; he couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face when he saw that it was Marisa.

"Hey, chica," he greeted her, frowning at the sigh he heard. "What's wrong?"

"You're still good for tonight, right? No later than seven?"

Espo winced. "Well…"

"Javi!"

"I should, but with this case…"

Marisa groaned, and Espo could imagine her rubbing her forehead like she did when she was frustrated. "Javi," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "I know you're a little freaked out-"

"No I'm not-"

"Yeah, you are. Richie will warm up to you, I promise. He's just a little overprotective."

"I'll say," Espo scoffed, unlocking his car. "Last night I got a death glare when I kissed your cheek while saying good night. I'm surprised he didn't shove me out the door."

"Give him time," Marisa urged. "Please, Javi. I'm in a real bind, and you watching him for a while would really help me out. He likes video games, maybe that's a place to start?"

Espo shrugged and started his cruiser. "I gotta go up to the Bronx, then back to the precinct. I have no idea when I'll be done. If I can't get away-"

Marisa interrupted with a scoff. "Yeah, yeah. I saw you take down a guy with his thumb on a bomb trigger. I can't believe you'd let yourself get intimidated by an eight-year-old boy."

"Okay, that's not fair."

"I'll call you in a couple hours to check in."

Espo stared at his phone's screen as the call disconnected. His girlfriend seemed pissed, and he didn't blame her; he could face murderers all day long, but a kid? Who didn't like him, no less? He'd rather be in the box with Jerry Tyson again.

* * *

John Barnes was a handsome man, Castle observed, despite the way his eyes darted across the room. Unlike the DMV photo they'd pulled, he was clean-cut, if a little nervous; Senator Kearney had explained to Beckett that John had fallen on hard times after leaving the Navy, struggling with substance abuse, but he'd turned his life around after becoming Kearney's driver.

"Why did you ask for the morning off, John?" Esposito asked, hands on the table in front of their suspect, hovering over him. "Ten years you barely asked for any time off, but you did now. Why?"

"I-" Barnes stopped, and ran his hands through his hair. "I just needed it off. I had stuff to do."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Personal stuff."

Ryan piped up from where he leaned against the corner. "So, what, are we supposed to believe that the timing is a coincidence?" He crossed his arms. "You take a day off, and that happens to be the day that the wife of your employer is murdered?"

"Yes!" Barnes yelled.

Castle looked at the door to observation when it opened, scooted over to make room on the table he was perched on when Beckett slipped through. "Is the senator okay?" he asked quietly.

Kate sighed and joined him on the desk. "As okay as he can be." Her hand brushed against his, and she laced her fingers through his, gripping them tightly. "It was a normal day. He woke up early to work, his wife kissed him before she left."

"Except the day wasn't normal," Castle said, squeezing her hand, pressing a kiss to the top of her head when she dropped her cheek to his shoulder.

Kate lifted her head and let go of his hand after a final squeeze. "We need to catch the bastard that tore apart this family."

"We will."

"How's Adam? Was he able to tell you anything?"

Castle shook his head. "No, he didn't see anything." He let out a long sigh and reached for her hand again. "I feel awful, Kate. As soon as I mentioned his mom he started crying again. To lose his mom, at his age…"

Kate hummed. "As hard as it is, without my mom…" She fell silent for a long moment, and when Castle squeezed her hand, she looked up at him with a small smile, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I had nineteen years with her, and I'm grateful for every moment, for the memories that I do have. I can't imagine what Adam's going through at his age."

"You know how to fire a gun, John?" Esposito's question came through the speaker, and Castle turned his attention back to the interrogation.

"I was in the Navy for ten years. Of course."

"You still shoot?"

Barnes crossed his arms. "What are you getting at, Detective?"

"Hey," Ryan snapped, "we're asking the questions here. Do you own a gun?"

"Why is that relevant?"

"Why is that relevant?" Espo repeated with a scoff. "You-"

Castle's attention was diverted by a knock on the door, and LT poked his head inside, handed Beckett a folder.

"You should see this, Cap," LT said, nodding at them.

"Thanks, LT." Beckett inhaled sharply when she opened the folder, then handed it to Castle. "Mr. Barnes has a concealed weapons permit."


	4. Chapter 4

"Who's that?" Castle asked later that morning, after Barnes was taken to holding while they waited for ballistics. He watched Aragon and another uniform usher in an angry-looking young woman.

Beckett looked up from her desk, where she was reviewing a file. "Patricia Donoghue, former legislative assistant for Kearney," she explained. "According to the senator, she quit about a week ago and stormed out after a screaming match with his Chief of Staff. Her file says basically the same thing."

"Oh." Castle stood from the couch and joined her at her desk, propped his hip against it. "Anything interesting? Besides that, of course."

Beckett sighed. "Not really. No criminal record," she said, motioning to her computer screen, which displayed Patricia's DMV photo and personal information, "except one ticket a few months ago for talking on her cell phone while driving. But she paid the fine and that was that."

"Do we know why she quit?"

Beckett shook her head and pushed back from her desk, used Castle's outstretched hand to help her stand. "Nope. That's what I'm here for."

* * *

Beckett nodded her thanks to Castle when he opened the interrogation door for her, and took a few moments to sit and collect herself, despite Patricia sitting across the table. "Patricia Donoghue," she greeted her, "I'm Captain Beckett. What's your relationship to Senator Alexander Kearney?"

Patricia's eyes darted between Beckett and Castle. "I'm-I'm sorry?"

"You used to work for him, correct?"

"Yes," she said slowly, crossing her arms. "What's this about?"

"Why don't you work for him anymore?"

Patricia shrugged. "I-"

"According to the senator," Beckett pressed, "you and the chief of staff got into a very loud argument last week, and you stormed out."

"I-I didn't-"

"What was it about, Patricia?"

Patricia's eyes welled with tears and she sniffled. "I didn't like what the senator was trying to propose in the mental health committee," she finally admitted. "He wanted to cut funding for state-provided treatment. I wanted to talk to him directly, but Bob stopped me. He said that Kearney was too busy to see me, but he'd say that mental health care 'wasn't worth it,'" she said, bitterness coming through in air quotes, "and it was a 'waste of money for something that most people think is fake.'"

Beckett froze, and she could feel the anger radiating from her husband behind her. It shocked and saddened her that, in this day and age, someone would actually see mental health as less important than physical health. And that didn't even include what she and Rick had been through. If she hadn't been able to get help for her PTSD after her first shooting…

She shook her head to dismiss the speculative thoughts that were beginning to creep to the forefront of her mind. No, this wasn't about legislation; it was about finding the person who had murdered a wife and mother.

"Do you own a gun, Ms. Donoghue?" Castle asked after a long silence. "Or have access to one?"

Patricia hesitated just long enough for Beckett to raise an eyebrow. "No, I don't. I hate guns."

Beckett nodded, and wrote _access to guns? Hesitated._ on her notepad. "Where were you this morning between 7:30 and 8:00?"

"Um, at home."

"Can anyone confirm?"

"No, I was alone."

Beckett hummed and glanced back at Castle, who just gave her a quirk of his eyebrow. "Okay," she said, standing, "sit tight. We'll be back."

* * *

"Captain Beckett!"

Beckett turned from the murder board to see Senator Kearney storming off the elevator. "Senator, please, come into my office." She held her arm out in encouragement, but he just shook his head and shoved a plastic bag into her hands. "What is this?"

"It was on my door." Kearney's voice had a slight tremor, and when Beckett just looked at him, he explained further. "This was taped _on my door_ when I got home."

The bag contained a single sheet of paper, and when she turned it over she saw large block letters reading:

 _YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE! DO THE RIGHT THING, OR YOU'LL REGRET IT!_

"Hey, Ryan?" she called out, handing him the bag. "Have CSU check this for prints." She turned her attention back to the senator. "Who has access to your front door?"

"Well, a gate surrounds my property, but it could have been anyone with the code. Housekeepers, gardeners, other employees."

"Okay. Senator, where's your son?"

Kearney followed Beckett into her office. "I took him to my sister's place in Brooklyn. I don't want him surrounded by this."

"We'll need the prints of anyone who touched the letter," she said, sitting down and picking up the phone to call CSU. "Hey, Hernandez, it's Beckett. Ryan's on his way down with a piece of evidence that I need the techs to process ASAP."

"You got it, boss," Officer Hernandez said. "Is this for the case on the senator's wife?"

Beckett nodded even as she spoke. "Yes. Did ballistics come back yet?"

"Um..." There was some typing in the background, then a sharp inhale. "Damn," Hernandez muttered under his breath. "The bullet's not a match with the one retrieved from John Barnes's gun. Looks like your guy might be innocent."

Beckett managed to keep her face neutral when she glanced at the senator, who was across from her on the couch. She didn't know what she'd preferred: if the bullet had been a match and his close friend had presumably killed his wife, or the bullets not being a match, and being back at square one.

Unless...

"Did the bullet match any others in the system?" she asked, turning away from Kearney and lowering her voice.

"Actually, yes. Ballistics match a gun registered to a Stuart Donoghue, 64-"

"Did you say Donoghue?" Beckett interrupted. She turned back to her computer and pulled up his information. Her eyes skimmed across the screen, until she found what she was looking for.

Hitting the print button, she locked her screen, took the printout, and excused herself.

* * *

"Mr. Donoghue." Esposito set a folder on the table and leaned against the wall behind the suspect as Beckett sat down. "We have a few questions."

Beckett took a picture out of the folder and placed it in front of the older man. "Do you know this man?" she asked, studying his reaction.

Donoghue reached for the photo, then seemed to think twice, and pulled his hands back, put them on his lap. "No," he claimed, but his voice broke on the word.

"How about this woman?" She put another picture in front of him. When Donoghue just shook his head, she glanced up at Espo.

Espo spoke up from his perch. "You have a memory problem, Donoghue? Bad eyesight?"

"Tell us about your son." Beckett pointed at the first picture, an official Army portrait of a young man, a near carbon copy of the man in front of her. "Stuart Junior." She could see Donoghue start to crack, his eyes filling with tears, so she took a more sympathetic approach, the approach to a parent who had had to bury their child.

"I think about him every day," Donoghue finally managed to get out. "What I could have done different."

"What happened?"

"I didn't want him to join the Army, right in the middle of the Iraq war. But he did, he wanted to serve his country. Wanted to do something good. He went over there twice, and the second time he came home, in '11..." Donoghue trailed off.

Beckett didn't take her eyes off of him, not even when Espo pushed himself off the wall and sat next to her.

"He'd changed," Donoghue continued. "He'd become quiet, withdrawn. Bags under his eyes from not sleeping. He moved in with me, and I'd hear him get up in the middle of the night. One night, I woke up to a large crash, and he'd pushed over a bookcase to block the door, claimed that someone was trying to get in."

Beckett shifted in her seat, memories flooding in of a case five years before, of a sniper that had triggered her own PTSD attack, a case she couldn't have gotten through without the detective sitting next to her and the man she knew was in observation. At Espo's elbow against her arm, she brought her attention back to Donoghue.

"I tried to get him to see a therapist. He was worried about the money, couldn't hold down a job, claimed the VA wouldn't pay for counseling. I tried to tell him the money didn't matter." Donoghue wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I would have paid anything to get him help. Anything at all. His sister, too. It's why she went into politics, to try and do something."

"His sister, Patricia," Beckett clarified. "His twin."

"Yes."

"What happened three years ago, Mr. Donoghue?"

Donoghue took a deep breath and a sip of the water they had provided. "I came home from work, and my apartment was silent. Now, of course, I know that I should have realized something was wrong. It was _too_ silent. Stu always had the radio or TV on, to drown out the noises in his mind, he said. He hadn't said anything about going out, but I figured maybe he went for a walk and forgot to leave a note. When I opened his bedroom door to get his laundry, he was-" Donoghue stopped and broke down, tears streaming down his face and dropping onto his shirt.

Beckett blinked back the tears that stung her eyes and looked at Espo, motioned for him to continue.

Espo cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Mr. Donoghue, but I have to ask. Did you know Senator Kearney?"

The older man looked up after wiping his eyes with a tissue, his eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell does he have to do with anything?"

"You said your daughter got into politics to help her brother," Beckett took over, her voice soft yet firm. While Donoghue was obviously still mourning the tragic loss of his son, she'd had unis pick him up for a reason. "Because of his PTSD?"

"How did you-" Donoghue trailed off, but after just a moment he shook his head and shifted his gaze to his son's Army photo again. "She wanted to make a difference in mental health care. So she got her job with Kearney and tried to push him to be more active in the Mental Health Committee. But he wasn't having any of it. Claimed the money could be put to better use. He tasked his team with writing a budget that would put more money towards tax breaks for casinos, and take away from mental health care, even for veterans."

"I'll bet that pissed you off, didn't it?" Espo said, leaning forward in his chair. Beckett stayed quiet, letting him take over the questioning.

"Well, sure it did."

"Probably pissed off your daughter, too."

"Yeah."

"Enough for her to quit her job."

"She'd had enough of the hypocrisy. Kearney ran on a platform of improving health care, of fighting for more mental health treatment, but he turned his back on his campaign promises when he got big donations from local casino owners."

"Hence the budget," Espo muttered.

Donoghue nodded. "Exactly."

"Where's your gun, Stuart?"

"What?"

Beckett nodded at Espo to continue, with Donoghue on edge from the sudden change of topic.

"It's a simple question. Where's your gun?"

"I don't-" He cleared his throat. "I don't understand."

"You have a Beretta Tomcat, correct?" Espo took the ballistics report from the folder and placed it in front of Donoghue, covering the pictures of his children. "Where is it?"

"It's-it's at home. In my safe."

"Really?" Espo showed him another picture, one provided by CSU, showing an open and empty safe. "You mean this safe? Because my partner swept your apartment and found nothing. No gun, no bullets. Nothing."

"So where's the gun?" Beckett asked.

"I-"

"Where-"

"I don't know!" Donoghue finally yelled, his hands gripping his hair. "I came home yesterday and went to clean it, but it was gone."

"Why didn't you file a police report?"

"I figured I left it in another drawer, I do that sometimes when I come home from the range."

"Well, not this time. So who else has access to your apartment?"

"No one."

"Stuart-"

"I swear!" he yelled again, and when he moved to stand Espo shot out of his chair and hovered over him. "I have no idea who could have taken it, no idea where it is."

Beckett retrieved the ballistics report, but left the other pictures for Donoghue to look at and memorize. "We'll be back."

* * *

"You okay?" Castle asked his wife when he met them outside interrogation. He'd been watching from observation, had seen her reaction at learning of the son's PTSD, had noticed the tears in her eyes. He'd had a similar reaction; the thought of something happening to Alexis, or the child that Kate was carrying, scared him more than he could put into words.

Kate gave him a short nod and slipped her hand through his. "I will be."

"Hey, Captain?"

Beckett turned at the sound of her name, and saw Vikram at the door of the tech room. "What's up?"

"There's something you need to see," he said, motioning towards them.

They followed him into the tech room, where he had paused what looked like security footage.

"I finally finished scrubbing the security footage that we got from the school and surrounding buildings," he explained, zooming in on the figure in the still frame. "This was caught by a bank ATM across the street at 7:18, almost a half-hour before Mrs. Kearney was killed. Look familiar?"

Castle stepped closer, squinting as he tried to make out the figure on the screen, on the edge of the frame. It was low quality and very blurry, but as Vikram sharpened it, he could see the blonde hair, the tall stature of the person in question. He couldn't make out any distinct features, couldn't tell a gender, but when the person turned, their profile looked familiar.

"Wait a second, is that the person who got into Mrs. Kearney's car?" he asked, pointing at the screen.

Vikram nodded. "They're wearing the same clothes, although it looks to be a basic pair of jeans and a black sweatshirt, so that isn't necessarily anything to go by," he admitted. "So I analyzed the height and stature, and it seems to be the same person."

"Do they show up on any other cameras?" Beckett asked from the chair.

Vikram switched screens. "Yeah, here."

It was one of the cameras at the front entrance, and Castle could make out what seemed to be the same person, hovering near the ATM, facing the school. He still couldn't see any specific facial features, couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman.

"Hang on," Esposito said after a long moment, joining Castle in front of the screen. "That looks like Patricia Donoghue."


	5. Chapter 5

"Anything in the kitchen?" Ryan called out, as he helped unis search Patricia's apartment.

Esposito wandered into the bedroom a moment later, shaking his head. "Nah, man. I know Beckett thought we'd find the gun here, but I don't see it." He sat on the bed with a sigh.

Ryan glanced at his partner from the floor, where he'd just looked under the bed to no avail. "Well the gun used was registered to Patricia's dad, so assuming she had access to his place, she easily could have taken it." He shoved the mattress as much as he could with Espo on it. "If you're just gonna mope, can you at least help me look under the mattress?"

They lifted the queen-sized mattress, but there was no gun there, either. After several more minutes of his partner moping, Ryan had had enough, and glared at him "Okay, what's wrong with you?"

"Marisa doesn't get it," Esposito complained. "I talked to her earlier and said I'd probably still be on the case, and not to count on me to pick up her kid. She accused me of being scared."

"Well, aren't you?"

"I don't know, man. I like the kid, but when I'm around kids that aren't my family I freeze up."

Ryan managed not to roll his eyes in Espo's face. "Okay, look. You like Marisa, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you see this relationship continuing into long-term?"

Espo shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know, maybe."

"Dude. You'll do fine with her son. Just do something he likes to do, you know?" When Espo nodded, Ryan smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm here for you, man."

Espo grinned. "Thanks."

"Hey, guys," LT called from the living room. "We found something." When they joined him, he held up an evidence bag. "It's a Beretta Tomcat."

Ryan gave his partner a look. "That's the same kind that Stuart Donoghue owns. What do you wanna bet the ballistics match?"

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Kate closed her eyes in embarrassment at the sound of her husband's voice as she poured a cup of coffee. She'd already had her allotted daily dose of caffeine, but she'd been hoping to sneak just a few sips without being caught. But no, Castle was just too observant.

He nudged her hip with his, a supporting hand on her waist when she stepped aside. "I'll just pretend you were making me coffee," he teased.

"Mm-hmm." She handed him the cream, and when he added sugar and stirred, stole a sip. She grinned at the surprised look on his face. "It's just a sip."

Kate waddled over to the table, and sat in a chair with a groan, aware of Castle's eyes following her every move. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off the headache that was beginning to creep into her temples.

Castle set his mug in the sink and came up behind her, started to rub her shoulders. His thumbs rubbed circles against the base of her skull, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head when she moaned and dropped her head forward. "You okay?"

Kate moaned again when his fingers moved to her lower back and he hit the spot that always bothered her. "God that feels good. Right there."

"Commissioner? Or the senator?"

"Both," she admitted, curling her arms around her stomach. "The senator's been in my office all afternoon, and I swear he asks me every thirty seconds if there's anything new. And I keep expecting my phone to ring with the commissioner chewing me out for not having it solved, again."

"Want me to call him?"

Kate scoffed. "Yeah, that would go over well." When he fell silent, she looked up at him, saw his brows furrowed. "I appreciate it, Rick, I do."

Castle bent down to give her a kiss, smiling against her mouth. "I didn't mean to overstep," he muttered.

"You didn't." Kate reached up and curled her hand around his neck, allowed herself to deepen the kiss for a few moments.

"Hey, boss- oh, sorry," Ryan stuttered, looking at the floor.

Castle stood up at the interruption, shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was just, uh, coffee," he stammered, pointing sheepishly at the espresso machine.

Kate chuckled even as her husband helped her stand. "What's up, Ryan?"

Ryan blushed. "Ballistics came back on the gun we found at Patricia's apartment."

"And?"

"It's a 95% match."

"Great. That should be good enough for the DA."

* * *

"We found the gun in your apartment, Patricia!" Ryan said, the frustration evident in his voice. "You're telling me you have no idea where it came from?"

Patricia raked her fingers through her hair, obviously flustered. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you."

"You're telling me," Esposito piped up, "that your dad's gun, whose ballistics match the bullet that killed Mrs. Kearney, the wife of the senator who you worked for until recently, walked into your apartment on its own?"

"I'm saying I don't know how it got there, because I didn't take it."

Ryan set the bagged gun on the table. "It has your prints, and only your prints." He pushed another piece of evidence, the security picture of her by the ATM, across the table. "And you were across the street from the school this morning. Why'd you lie about your alibi?"

"Okay, yeah, I was there, okay? Only to try and talk to her. Woman to woman."

"How'd that turn into you shooting her? Kidnapping gone wrong?"

Patricia was silent for a long moment. "I think I need to get a lawyer," she finally admitted.

"Yeah, you do." He nodded at Espo, who stood to let LT into interrogation, handcuffs in hand. "Patricia Donoghue, you're under arrest for the murder of Monica Kearney..."

* * *

"Well, here we are," Espo said, opening his door and letting Richie in first. "I got video games, a couple board games, and we can order something when we get hungry."

Richie threw his backpack onto the couch. "Cool. You got Halo?"

Espo scoffed. "Better believe I got Halo. And Guitar Hero, Madden '17..." He opened the cabinet of his television stand to reveal his movies and video games. "You pick, dude." When Richie grinned and moved towards the selection, he shut the door. "After homework."

He left Richie to begin his homework so he could secure his gun in his room. When he returned, Richie wasn't staring at the pages of homework lying in front of him, but at Espo, a curious look on his face.

"You like my mom?"

Espo smiled. "Yeah, I do. Is that okay?"

Richie shrugged. "She likes you too, so sure." He lifted a glare. "But remember, if you hurt her I'll kick your ass."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Espo said, nudging his shoulder. He moved into his kitchen and pulled out a stack of takeout menus. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You like pizza, right?"

* * *

"She was a legislative assistant," Beckett explained to Senator Kearney after Patricia was taken to holding. "She wanted more mental-health funding, and when you had the budget written cutting it, she tried to get a meeting with you. Your chief of staff stonewalled her, so that's why she quit."

Kearney lifted his gaze from the floor. "How did that escalate into her killing my wife?"

Beckett pushed herself back from her desk, and stood. "She wanted to kidnap her," she said quietly. "She was planning to use her as leverage to negotiate you reconsidering that budget."

"Did I do this?" Kearney asked after a long silence. "Did I get my wife killed?"

Kate didn't answer; the truth of the matter was, his stance supporting the casino industry instead of mental health treatment and reform had angered a lot of people, the surviving Donoghues among them. And one of them had taken action.

Kearney spoke again before she could figure out what to say. "It doesn't matter. She's gone, and it's just me and Adam." He stood, grabbed his coat from the end of the couch. "I'd like you to drive me home, Captain."

"Oh, Senator, I don't think-"

"Please." He slipped his coat on. "You've been a great help today." He raised an eyebrow. "And, as head of the Budget Committee, I can allocate more funds into law enforcement. Maybe pull some strings elsewhere."

Beckett hesitated before grabbing her own coat. Maybe just driving home the senator could help her get Ryan and Esposito into the sergeant's exam. It could be worth it, even if manipulating the system didn't sit right with her.

"Should we pick up your son?" she asked as they got into her cruiser.

"No, I'll get him tomorrow. I need to figure out what to do from here."

It was late, so traffic to his house just outside the city was minimal. She'd contacted the local precinct captain on her way, and requested that the property be swept. She saw a patrol car in the driveway, and got the officer's assurances that the property was clean before turning down their offer to stay.

She wanted to say something as they walked to the door, something important, about how mental health care was important and could save lives. How he shouldn't take money from helping people and use it to encourage spending and addiction. But she couldn't form words, only wanted to see Kearney safely inside and go back home, change into a pair of her husband's sweats and curl up in his arms.

"Thank you, Captain," Kearney said as they stepped inside. "Thank you for finding my wife's killer."

Kate just nodded. "It's what I do, sir. Good night." She pulled her phone from her coat pocket as she turned to leave, intending to call Castle to let him know she was on her way home. But as soon as the call connected, the lights went dark.

 _Dammit,_ she thought to herself, and when she turned to suggest the senator find the circuit breaker, the front door slammed shut.

"What the-"

She heard a thud, but as she pulled her gun out, she saw a figure emerge from the shadows.

"Drop the gun and phone, Captain."

She could hear Castle's voice through the speaker as she dropped her phone to the ground.

" _Beckett? Are you there? Kate?"_

And then she heard the shot.

 _ **...TO BE CONTINUED...**_

* * *

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